


Hufflepuff and Muggle

by melian225



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Canon Compliant, Community: HPFT, F/M, Forbidden Love, Hogwarts, Hufflepuff, Pre-Marauders' Era, Slytherin, muggle
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-06
Updated: 2016-09-06
Packaged: 2018-08-13 11:54:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,495
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7975903
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/melian225/pseuds/melian225
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Andromeda Black knows what is expected of her. She would never go deliberately against her family's wishes. Or would she?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Hufflepuff and Muggle

****

Andromeda closed the door of the library behind her and hurried down the stairs, back to the sanctuary of the Slytherin common room. Her cheeks were burning and she couldn’t quite believe what had just happened. She was a Black, after all, no matter what people might think, and she certainly had standards. How a Muggle like Tonks would have the nerve ...

“You okay?” Rana Selwyn, Andromeda’s dorm mate, intercepted her as she entered the common room.

“Fine,” Andromeda said stiffly. For the first time that year she was relieved that Bella had finished her NEWTs the previous year, because there was no way she would have been able to keep this news from her elder sister, and she dreaded to think what Bella would have done. She was wary of what Bella was doing these days, and the company she kept, and if she’d heard that a Muggle had dared to attempt to link himself with the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black ... Andromeda didn’t want to think about it, nor about what Tonks might have looked like at the end of it.

She hurried through the common room and into the sixth year girls’ dormitory, relieved to find it was empty. She had to settle down, had to work out what she was going to do before anyone found out what had happened. No matter how she couched it to herself, though, the truth couldn’t be denied. Ted Tonks, Hufflepuff and Muggle, had asked her out.

Muggle. Hufflepuff. Andromeda wasn’t sure there could be a worse combination, at least from her parents’ perspective. The thing was, though, a part of her couldn’t really blame him for trying. They’d shared classes since first year, had struck up a conversation almost randomly in second year, and had found themselves more and more in each other’s company in the years since. If it wasn’t for the Black/Muggle thing, Andromeda might almost have considered him a friend. Of course, though, she couldn’t. Call him a friend, that was. Blacks and Hufflepuffs didn’t speak to each other, and Blacks and Muggles certainly didn’t. Tonks was lucky she’d even given him the time of day, let alone her conversation and company over the years. He should feel honoured, and unwilling to try to step above his place in society, rather than daring to dream of an attachment with her.

 _I’ll ignore him from now on_ , she resolved. _Make sure he doesn’t get any ideas of the sort again._

And if she repeated that often enough, she thought, she might just manage to convince herself it was the right thing to do.

****

“Dromeda,” Narcissa said at the lunch table a week later, “what do you remember about fourth year Potions?”

“Not a lot,” Andromeda said truthfully. “Why, what’s troubling you?”

“Antidotes. Can you help me work through my homework? I’m really struggling.”

“Sure,” Andromeda agreed. She often helped her younger sister with her homework, though it wasn’t often that she was called upon to help with Potions, being as it was the one subject she had failed in her OWLs. “I’ve got Transfiguration next, but I can come see you after that if you like.”

Narcissa beamed at her. “That’d be great. Thanks! Common room?”

Andromeda nodded. “Sure,” she said again. Why not? It would be a good distraction from her own studies, not to mention that other thing that kept popping its unwelcome head up.

Finishing her meal, she started to make her way out of the Great Hall and up the stairs towards Professor McGonagall’s classroom, fishing in her bag for her homework as she went. She was so engrossed in trying to find it – she was _sure_ it was there, she’d finished it only the night before – that she didn’t pay any attention to anything around her ... until she bumped, quite literally, into Ted Tonks.

_Speaking of that unwelcome other thing ..._

What was worse was, he was alone. When he was with those infernal friends of his, probably Muggles themselves, he was much easier to ignore. There were generally some uncouth remarks but it was beneath her to even acknowledge she’d heard them, and she was able to maintain some semblance of dignity. When he was alone, though, it was another story.

“Andromeda!” He was very clearly pleased to see her.

“Ted.” She tried to keep her tone curt, but she couldn’t help smiling. There was something so engaging about him that at times she really struggled to keep the proper distance.

“How are you?” His enthusiasm was contagious, and she found herself allowing herself to get closer to him than was really appropriate.

“Fine. Though I can’t seem to lay my hands on today’s homework.” She indicated her messy bag with a rueful grin. “It’s in there somewhere, I promise!”

Ted laughed. “Serves you right for being so messy,” he said. “Here, how about I have a look? Sometimes a fresh pair of eyes makes all the difference.”

Andromeda found herself covering her bag with her hand, instinctively trying to keep him out, though she wasn’t sure why. “It’s okay,” she said, that curt tone coming back when she wasn’t looking for it. “I’ll find it. See you in class, okay?”

She hurried away from him, still not knowing why she was trying so hard to escape him. She hated to admit it but she did enjoy his company, and she felt bad for brushing him aside like that, even though it was what she should have been doing all along. Why was she so touchy about him seeing her bag? It wasn’t like he’d never had his hand inside it before – he’d put things she’d dropped in it, replaced her quill, pulled out textbooks. Her bag had never been off limits before.

_Oh well. Clearly I’m just behaving as I should anyway._

Inside the classroom, she sat down and went methodically through the bag, looking for her homework. In the midst of the papers she saw a black, leather-bound book, with a silken rope tied around it, and suddenly she knew why she hadn’t wanted Ted Tonks looking in her bag. If that boy ever saw her diary ...

She remembered only too clearly what she had written only a few nights before. _Saw Ted again today. He must have had a haircut at Hogsmeade or something because he was looking almost foxy, though that cowlick still hasn’t been tamed. I wonder if I should try one of Cissy’s spells on it? What that girl doesn’t know about hair isn’t worth knowing. Maybe I should ask her which one would be best ..._ That last sentence had been crossed out, twice. She couldn’t ask Cissy about anything that might be linked to a Muggle boy. She flicked open the book to the page to make sure it _had_ been crossed out, then blushed as she saw the next sentence. _Really, if he wasn’t a Muggle and a Hufflepuff, he wouldn’t be that bad a catch. I wonder why no one else has noticed this?_

She couldn’t help looking to her right, to the table that he normally occupied, ostensibly to ensure he couldn’t see what she was looking at, but really to see whether she still agreed with her earlier assessment. The trouble was, she did. Smart, easy to talk to, easy on the eye, and always able to make her laugh – Ted Tonks, if he was a pureblood, would be the total package.

_He’s a Muggle._

That was all she needed to say, really. Everything else was irrelevant. No matter what else she thought of the boy, his Muggle parentage was enough to block everything else out. She couldn’t date a Muggle; her family would never speak to her again. And no boy was worth that.

****

Cissy had some troubling news that afternoon during their Potions session. “I heard from Bella today,” she said, keeping her voice low even though there were only three other people in the common room. “She’s been getting in closer with that group Rodolphus Lestrange was taking her to. She’s really into their politics – ridding the magical world of Muggles, keeping the bloodlines pure.”

Andromeda winced involuntarily. “Mum and Dad’ll love that.”

“Well, of course,” Narcissa said dismissively. “They’re Blacks. We all want to keep the bloodlines pure. Bella’s getting in really deep, though. Naturally I agree with her, but I do wonder about some of the stuff she’s saying ...”

“Show me the letter,” Andromeda demanded. “Let me see.” When her sister handed it over, she read it with an increasingly sinking heart. Bella was getting heavily involved in the war, and by the sounds of things was buddying up with the Dark Lord himself. The letter hinted that she had been involved in some recent attacks on Muggle-borns, and certainly indicated that she was incredibly proud of what she had achieved.

 _That settles it_ , Andromeda thought. _I cannot get involved with Ted Tonks. Not with my sister doing what she’s doing._

“What’s wrong?” Narcissa asked, taking the letter back. “You’re sitting there shaking your head, like what she’s doing is a bad thing. Yes, killing them might be a bit extreme, but really it’s only where the war’s going, right?”

Andromeda looked keenly at her. “Is that what Lucius told you?”

Narcissa blushed. “Maybe,” she said. “But it’s true, isn’t it? If it’s going to happen eventually anyway, what’s the harm in starting it now?”

****

“I’m sorry, but I can’t talk to you anymore.” Andromeda practiced saying the words, trying to make her voice sound convincing. “Our worlds are too far apart. It’s not a good idea for us to be friendly.”

She said them over and over, ignoring the fact that she still couldn’t admit out loud that she and Ted were actually friends, rather than just being friendly. This would put a stop to that anyway, of course. The question was whether he would believe her, and whether he would realise that she was doing this, severing all contact, for his sake rather than hers. For his safety, and the safety of his family.

“Who are you talking to?” Rana Selwyn asked, opening the door to the bathroom. “Who are you being friendly with?”

“No one,” Andromeda said stiffly. “No one at all.”

Rana stood her ground. “Is this about that Muggle?” she asked, almost spitting the word out. “Ted Tonks?”

Andromeda feigned ignorance. “What are you talking about?”

“Cut the crap,” Rana said, her voice now hostile. “Everyone’s seen you cozying up to him, everyone’s seen you two talking and the way you look at each other. If you’re cutting off ties with someone, you’d better hope it’s with him. Cos if you keep on seeing him, we might have to tell your sister what you’ve been up to. That her little sis is a Muggle-loving slut.”

“You watch your tongue,” Andromeda hissed. “If you say one word to Bella I’ll curse you into next week. And if you’re going to slander me, you might want to get your facts right. Ted Tonks has never laid a finger on me, and he’s not going to.”

“Yeah, right,” Rana scoffed. “Sure. You think that, Black, if it makes you happy.” She turned to leave, then stopped and looked over her shoulder. “Remember, though, you stop talking to the Muggle scum, or Bella finds out.”

****

“I’m sorry, but I can’t talk to you anymore.” The words were on the tip of her tongue, but now she’d managed to corner Ted Tonks, in a little enclave underneath the stairs that led to the library, she couldn’t actually say them.

“What’s up, Dromeda?” he asked, his eyes searching her face. “You look like you’ve been to a funeral.”

 _I might, if I’m not careful_ , she thought. _Yours_. She swallowed.

“This – thing,” she began, “that we’ve got. Or don’t have. I don’t know.”

He looked confused. “What – thing?”

She blushed. “I don’t even know. I mean, you asked me out, and I said no ...”

“Which means that we don’t have a – thing,” he said. “Come on, Dromeda, what’s wrong?”

“I can’t see you,” she blurted out. “It’s too dangerous.”

He looked at her keenly. “Dangerous? How?”

“The war,” she said, feeling hopelessly confused. “Muggles. You. The Dark Lord.”

“Yes, I’m Muggle-born. But what’s that got to do with the war?”

“You have to see you’re a target,” she said, the words coming quickly. “And even more so if you and I are friends. Or whatever we are. So if I want you to be safe, I have to stop seeing you.”

He grabbed her arm, his grip surprisingly tight. “Andromeda,” he said softly, “what’s this about?”

She paused, feeling increasingly uncomfortable with the way his eyes searched her face. “I don’t want you to die,” she said finally.

He relaxed his grip, only slightly. “Why not? Don’t tell me the great Andromeda Black actually cares about the fate of a Muggle-born.”

“And a Hufflepuff,” she said weakly. “I know.”

He let go of her arm and brought his hand to her face. “Does this mean,” he said, his voice quiet, “that you’re reconsidering your answer to that question?”

“What question?” she asked, pretending stubbornly to be ignorant of what he meant.

“You know what question,” he said. “Because I’ll tell you right now, I’m not scared of the Dark Lord or whatever you want to call him. I’m not scared of what his henchmen might want to do to me. Especially if that means that you might possibly be the reason for their attention. But – if you think you might become a target because of me, then I’ll back right off. I don’t want you to get hurt.”

She stared up at him. “Really? You’d really risk all that? For me?”

“Of course. But I’d never ask you to do something you don’t want to do.”

“I’d become a target,” she admitted. “And I could never tell my family about you. It’d have to be a secret. If it ever got out, they’d never speak to me again.”

He maintained eye contact. “That’s a decision you’d have to make, Andromeda. I’m not going to pressure you.”

She looked searchingly at him. “But you’d risk it all?”

“For you,” he said, “definitely.”

That was it. She could say the words, she could tell him that they had to stay apart, but she’d never be able to keep it up in practice. Muggle or not, he was everything else she might have ever wanted. And what was an accident of birth, really? Sure, Bella wouldn’t be happy, but there were worse things that could happen, surely?

_Is it really worth it, with the situation of the war and everything? I could never talk to Bella again, maybe not even Cissy. Is it worth it?_

Ted must have taken her silence for agreement, because he took that opportunity to lean in and kiss her. And that cemented it.

_Is it worth it?_

_Definitely_.


End file.
